Door handles are one of the most often used elements of any vehicle, and how well they work is rarely noticed until they don’t work well. While we were at Wheeler’s Speed Shop in Huntington Beach, California, we witnessed a ’48 Ford COE truck getting a complete upgrade, from its drivetrain to all of its mechanical components. When we spotted the Mazda Miata door handles, we couldn’t resist checking out how they operated. The outside door handles had been turned 90 degrees in the door panel, but that fact didn’t change the smooth functioning of the mechanisms inside and out.
The inside pull-type handle (also taken from a Miata) was mounted in the center of the interior panels in the original position. A small bellcrank was added to the system between the rods that lift the latch, but the mechanical operation of the stock Mazda mechanism didn’t suffer as a result.
Although the thought of adding Japanese componentry to classic iron may not appeal to some, consider that the Miata handles were designed to be compact and to have a classic appearance—precisely the criteria many of us seek for our own projects. Check out these photos to see if a Miata door handle mechanism might make a neat custom addition to your ride.
